Crass Merchandising and Wish Fulfillment - by Number 6 posted by mattclark72

[CSJournals-migration]

Crass Merchandising and Wish Fulfillment

 

A big drive behind my comic collecting is nostalgia. Buying, reading and collecting comics being a regular part of childhood was coming to an end when I was growing up. The fond memories I have of comics as a kid is something that my sons and their generation can't relate to. I thought I would start this journal as a way to document the comic acquisitions I make as well as scrap-book the memories I have associated those comics.

 

As such, my collecting doesn't have a clear focus or theme, thus making it difficult to arrive at a title for this journal. Therefore, I thought I would use the first entry to explain the title I have chosen.

 

 

Crass Merchandising:

 

Growing up in the 70's and 80's, the comic racks were filled with movie and T.V. adaptations and spin-offs. While these have always been a staple of comic publishers, during my childhood there was a definite shift. Beginning with Star Wars, comics based on licensed media properties became part of the release hype for these films and shows, which added to the perceived excitement for their related comic titles. Also during this period, the "big two" publishers, particularly Marvel, became much more heavily invested in these types of titles as well as venturing into using comics as a way to promote toy lines.

 

What's more, these media-related titles would often influence my purchase of non-licensed comic titles. If a super-hero character didn't have a T.V. show, cartoon or toy, it's highly unlikely I would have picked up his title.

 

Today, the majority of these licensed titles are dismissed by many collectors as being devoid of any creative or monetary value. But as a child I was an absolute sucker for all of these types of comics. Though it doesn't make for an impressive collection, I actively seek out high-grade copies of these issues. And because of the lack of perceived value, finding dealers who'll invest the time to stock high-grade copies of these titles can be a real challenge.

 

Wish fulfillment:

 

I grew up on a farm about 2 ½ miles outside of a small farming town in the central valley of California. The majority of my access to comics was on the trips my mom would make into town to the grocery and drug stores in Kingsburg and Selma. However, not every store my mom went to carried comics. So getting to the comic rack on a regular basis wasn't an option. Plus, my mom would limit me to one comic per visit. Thus, reading and collecting a consecutive run of any particular title was nearly impossible.

 

Later, as a teenager when I began visiting a local comic shop in the "big" town of Fresno/Clovis (about a 40 minute drive from home) I was introduced to buying "expensive" comics - older comics displayed on the wall. However, I never attended conventions nor branched out into mail order. So my acquisition of older comics was limited to what the shop happened to have on the wall at the time of my monthly visit. Therefore, there were many older comics I desired for my collection that I would never have an opportunity to purchase.

 

 

I believe these two factors greatly influence my comic collecting today and I think it will borne out in my future journal entries.

 

See more journals by mattclark72

[Number 6]

"In Search Of...Neal Adams"

 

Back in January of this year, I made a very significant purchase for my collection. This issue has a very strong nostalgic link to my childhood...and yet I never owned it as a child and in fact it was published about 2 years before I was born.

 

It goes back to comic related merchandise. I was born in October 1972 so my early childhood was in the 70's This was a hey-day for licensed comic related toys and merchandise. One of those toys that I fondly remember is this: (picture from a completed eBay auction)

 

 

I'd very much like to acquire a mint, sealed boxed version of this puzzle, however I have yet to see one on eBay. The canister version seems to be more common in new condition.

 

I built this puzzle repeatedly growing up, but around the age of 10 or 11 I remember building the puzzle and then sitting back and looking at it, really looking and for the first time appreciating the quality of the artwork. You can see that the re-coloring makes the image very striking. Up until this point, every image of the Batman was the same to me. But at that moment I decided that this depiction represented what I thought Batman truly looked like.

 

I also remember looking at the image and being struck with the idea that there must be a story behind the image. I don't know why. Maybe it was because I knew Batman to be and urban crime-fighter and yet this puzzle showed him running across a beach.

 

So, thanks to this puzzle, I now became more conscious of the artwork in comics in general, but also became interested in finding Batman comics that had artwork done by this particular artist, whoever he was.

 

Over the next few years, I began hunting through comics I owned as well ones I found on the rack hoping that I would hit upon the artist and recognize his work on site. For awhile, I thought Netzer's work on the Human Target back-up in my Detective Comics #486 was it. Later, I thought Alan Davis' run on Detective might be it.

 

The irony is that this artists work was right under my nose as a kid. While I never owned any of his comic books as a kid, I did have this: (my sealed, high-grade replacement copy)

 

 

I think by the time I started searching for this artist, this may have been long gone from my childhood possessions. Or I just never thought to check it.

 

Either way, it wouldn't be until years later, when I was in my late teens, that I would finally learn who the artist was.

 

To be continued....

[Brandon Shepherd]

This is a great start to what looks to be a great journal series! I enjoyed reading the intro, you mentioned movie and toy tie-ins from Marvel. I have been seeking out high grade copies from the Indiana Jones movie adaptations from the '80s for several years. These have been hard to find, popular movies but not popular comics. Some of my first comics were from the Marvel G.I. Joe run and the Topps Jurassic Park adaptation also, merchandising tie-ins.

 

Good luck in finding a nice sealed example of the puzzle, I'm looking forward to more entries.

[Number 6]

Thank you for the kind words! I'll try and keep it interesting.

[Number 6]

"In Search Of....Neal Adams" Part 2

 

When I was a teenager my father started a vacation tradition. As a farmer of 73 acres, my father was extremely busy for most of the year. August and September were the busiest months as they were the harvest time for the almond and raisin grape crops respectively. But the month of October was a brief respite before the winter work of pruning began. My parents began to use October as a month for us to take a family vacation to one of my favorite destinations: the central California coast.

 

Every year we would stay at the Estero Bay Motel in the small, sleepy town of Cayucos. (picture from Google images)

 

 

One block to the right is the ocean and pier. Up the street were 2 three-story antique stores which we always made time to go through. One had a huge collection of beat-up (and grossly over-priced) lunch boxes. It was at one of these antique stores that I came across some low-grade copies of House of Mystery/Secrets with Bernie Wrightson covers - my first exposure to his work. I can still remember exactly which covers I saw all those years ago, that's the impression they made on me.

 

In October of 1989 my brother and I, like most of the nation, were caught up in Bat-mania as the result of the Tim Burton film. Since we were typical teenagers with short attention spans and had not yet come to fully appreciate the soothing, tranquil nature of the coast, we both brought along comic-related reading material to pass the time. I can't remember what I brought, but my brother brought his copy of this: (my brothers actual copy in my possession today)

 

 

For whatever reason, I picked up his book and began perusing through it, randomly reading stories here and there, when I was dumb-struck coming across this page:

 

It was the exact same image as the puzzle I had as a kid! Actually, if you compare the two, you see they are different. The background is cropped at the tip of his outstretched left hand, whereas in the puzzle image extends all the way to the edge of his cape. I wonder if Adams originally created the full image, cropped it for use in the comic and then later submitted the full image for use in the puzzle? Or if he took the existing comic art and extended the background for the puzzle ? Or completely redrew the artwork from scratch for the puzzle?

 

I was ecstatic to find this image I was so fascinated with as a kid. But the question still remained: who was the artist and what issue was this? It seems so obvious now how to locate the answers, but bear and mind that even though I had checked out several reprint books from the library growing up, I always skipped past the boring table of contents to get to the "good stuff".

 

So for the first time in my comic reading experience, I learned to use the table of contents to identify the artist and the issue: Neal Adams and Batman #251. Even though some of Jim Aparo's art looked similar, it was clear that this was the only Adams issue reprinted in this volume.

 

But a problem still remained: I'm a very visual person and while the issue number was certainly helpful, the cover image wasn't reprinted. Keep in mind that at this point my sole source of back issues was my local comic shop. I hadn't yet branched out into mail order. Without a cover image, my usual tactic of walking into the comic shop, marching to the back of the store and scanning the wall for the book I was looking for by the cover image wasn't going to work this time.

 

A couple of years later, I would loose interest in the hobby without having ever located a copy of Batman #251 or any other Neal Adams Batman book.

 

.......

In 2000 I was visiting my mom at the farm house I grew up in. Two very important developments happened on this visit: 1) I was helping my mom sort through and organize the contents of an outside storage shed when we came across a handful of "valuable" comics from my teenage collecting days...including the Joker reprint volume and 2) my brother and mom introduced me to a web-site they had been buying on called eBay.

 

I know we all complain about eBay now, but for a frustrated comic collector who could never acquire consecutive issues of a title off the rack as kid or who had to hope that the book he was looking for would just happen to be at the comic store on the one day a month he would happen to visit, eBay was heaven. It was like a huge comic convention running 24/7.

 

Initially, I was a little overwhelmed at what to look for. After stumbling around and running across such random things as a sealed set of Post cereal Universal Monster Aurora finger puppet premiums that I had as a kid (which I SORELY regret not buying) it occurred to me to search for the Neal Adams Batman issue with the image from my childhood puzzle.

 

After quickly consulting the Joker reprint book for the issue number, I found a lot with Batman #251, 252 and 253 (with a cool Shadow cover, a character I had become fascinated with as a teenage thanks to Helfer and Sienkiewicz). I carefully examined the photos and all seemed to be in NM condition. I bid and was exhilarated win the lot for $70!

 

Not long after I received the books I began looking into a new company called CGC and started contemplating submitting the books. I wasn't so much interested in their grade (I was happy with the condition of the books) but for what I perceived as a better way to protect and store my "valuable" books. I submitted the Batman #251 and #253 as well as a copy of Swamp Thing #7.

 

The results overall were devastating. The Swamp Thing came back 9.4 which was a nice surprise, but the #253 came back 8.5 due to some small trimming tears on the top edge of the back cover and a couple of faint orange foxing spots on the spine edge. Worst of all, the #251 come back 9.2 - but with a purple label for slight amateur color touch.

 

I couldn't believe it. I kept trying to examine the book through the slab to see if I could discern the color touch they had spotted. I couldn't see anything and strongly felt CGC got it wrong. Which is absurd of course. I had absolutely no experience and detecting color touch on a raw book, let alone through a slab.

 

Eventually I sold the book at a heavy loss and would go on to buy a beautiful CGC 9.2 copy of the book for $120. But in 1997 my first wife and I divorced and I had to divest myself of my most of my valuable comics - including the Batman #251 and other Neal Adams Batman/Detective books - in order to pay for the expenses associated with a divorce.

 

A couple of years later, when things had settled down, I again ventured back into collecting comics. However, the prices realized for Neal Adams Bat-books had increased substantially. I assumed that these would be books that I just wouldn't be able to afford in a condition I would be happy with. And that would include Batman #251.

 

Or maybe not.

 

 

To be concluded....

[SW3D]

There are lots of fans of Neal Adams here... myself included!

His work on Batman, is arguably the best anyone has ever done for comic's greatest detective.

 

So far, you have provided some interesting and intriguing journals... touching on subjects which remind me of many similar episodes I have also experienced. Like you, I too have been under the spell and fascination of various comic treasures of my childhood which have held a special hold on me. And like you, as an adult... I simply need to have them!

 

I love where you are going... will be waiting for your next journal!... hopefully that will be real soon!

 

SW3D

[SW3D]

Batman 253 is an issue that is high on my list.

 

I'm a big fan of the O'Neil/Kaluta's Shadow... and his crossover to Batman's title is one of those which I must have.

 

A few years ago, the only CGC 9.8 came up on auction on ComicLink. I lost... the final bid was way over what I wanted to spend.

 

I still have hopes to own a copy.

 

SW3D

[SW3D]

Swamp Thing... is my absolute favorite DC character... and issue 7 is a classic!

 

I believe Wrightson gave Adams a run for his money. His rendition of Batman is dripping with classic Bronze brilliance! The cover is probably one of the most gorgeous and simplest covers from DC's 20 cent era. It's high art!

 

SW3D

[Hibou]

I'm liking these stories as well and I love that you have a sealed Power Records!

 

And that Adams Batman 251 image is certainly iconic!

[Number 6]

"In Search Of....Neal Adams" Part 3

 

Having forsaken Neal Adams Batman comics, I surveyed the comic publishing landscape looking for a satisfactory substitute and landed on another childhood favorite :Aquaman. One of the things I always wanted to have when I was collecting as a teenager was some nice Silver Age books in my collection.

 

Aquaman had excellent art by Nick Cardy and later by Jim Aparo as well as some amazing covers. I had always found the character visually interesting when I was a kid and I've always been fascinated with the ocean and marine life. Aquaman has had a long standing reputation for being "lame", his title lacks any major keys, and neither Cardy nor Aparo were consider to be "hot" artists like Adams. This title seemed to be aesthetically pleasing as well as financially do-able.

 

However, my estimation of the series was a few years behind the curve. I found myself spending more than I had anticipated. Cardy has been gaining in admirers and, thanks to movie hype, collectors and speculators have been casting about for any and all keys, both major and minor. I knew going into it that #1 would be expensive and that #11 would be both expensive and hard to come by in grade. But I figured I would put those books off until I was close to completing the run. The one book I was concerned about was #35.

 

Being a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up watching the Super Friends cartoon by Hanna-Barbara. My favorite version was Challenge of the Super Friends with the Legion of Doom. One of my favorites of those villains was Black Manta. He had a cool name, a weird voice and the mysterious Darth Vader thing going on. So I was very much interested in acquiring his first appearance.

 

As the months passed, I slowly acquired more and more of the issues of the run until finally, at the beginning of this year, a CGC 9.0 copy came up for sale on eBay. I knew this was coming. I had already purchased a couple of Aquaman books from the seller:

 

 

 

 

He had told me he would be listing the book at the start of the new year. I knew the OSPG value for the book was low. I looked at the sales numbers on a 9.4 that had sold last year, and extrapolating from that, came up with what I thought would be a competitive bid. I set my snipe for $265 and sat back to watch the auction play out over the next week.

 

I was shocked to find that within 2 hours of the auction beginning, my snipe was already surpassed. I frantically began running numbers, using recent sales figures of #11 in 9.0 to try and get a percentage of Guide to apply to this book - basically trying to find a way to justify increasing my bid. I adjusted my snipe twice more, finally settling on $430. But just a few hours before the auction's end, my snipe was again surpassed. The book ended just shy of $500. Not bad for a book that Guides at $90 in VF/NM.

 

I was crestfallen but as much I wanted the book I simply couldn't justify raising my bid anymore. I tried to console myself with the thought that maybe an 8.0/8.5 would come along that would be more affordable. Dejected, I began surfing eBay and comic dealer's websites. This is a dangerous thing to do. Hunting for comics after an auction loss is like grocery shopping while you're hungry - you're probably going to end up with something that you don't want or need.

 

However, as luck would have it, I stumbled across a Neal Adams Detective issue that had always eluded me: (a strictly graded VF/NM, finally part of my collection)

 

 

Then it struck me: if I was ready to spend over $400 on a Silver Age book that I only have a tenuous nostalgic connection to, why not pursue the Neal Adams Batman books I really want?

 

For the money I was willing to spend on the Aquaman #35, I could probably afford a pretty decent copy of Batman #251.

 

I began searching all over the internet looking for a nice 9.4 copy. I found one on Heritage but it was one of their live auctions and my bid was completely blown away. I even contacted a couple members who had had copies for sale on the boards, but they had already been sold elsewhere. I finally decided to post a Want To Buy listing here on the boards thinking it wouldn't hurt to have it out there while I continued to look. I didn't have high hopes. I was very specific about what I was looking for in terms of condition.

 

Just a few days later, I got a personal message from rube11 telling me he had seen my WTB and happened to have a 9.4 copy coming back from CGC soon and that the price I was willing to pay was agreeable to him. I tentatively agreed, but I wanted to see scans first before committing. I personally can't stand arrival date stamps, and #251 is notorious for mis-wrapped covers. And not all CGC 9.4s look alike. I was pleasantly surprised when I received a message back with the following images:

 

 

I quickly agreed and the sale was completed. I'm very grateful to rube11 for giving first crack at the book.

 

I always remove my comics from the CGC holders and store them in mylars. This is how the book looks now:

 

 

The scanner makes the spine stress marks pop more than they really do in hand. Yet, I must confess, this is not nicest presenting 9.4 I've seen. I have 9.4s of other books that are more attractive. Yet, it's definitely not the worst 9.4 I've seen either. I've seen 9.4 copies of this book significant stress marks and/or major mis-wraps. Ultimately, I realized that if I were to hold out for a slightly better copy, I would basically be looking for an under-graded book and I'd be competing against bidders gambling that they can re-submit and get a 9.6. And they'd be bidding accordingly.

 

All and all, this is certainly as nice as the 9.2 I had a decade ago. And ultimately, that's what I wanted: an attractive high-grade copy I can be proud of, the best representation of the book I can afford.

 

It's been a long time coming, but I'm happy to have this book back permanently in my collection. It represents a lot to me: artwork that I have a strong nostalgic connection to - particularly because of the puzzle but also because it was used on the packaging of a lot of Batman merchandise in the 70's, and my growth as a comic collector - from a growing appreciation for particular comic artists and how to identify them to a hard lesson about buying raw comics though mail order.

 

 

[Number 6]

To SW3D and Hibou -

 

Thanks for the positive feedback and encouragement!

 

I'll try and keep the entries entertaining - and maybe a bit less long-winded.

[Number 6]

"Look! In the hardware isle! It's Tim Taylor! It's Bob Vila! No, it's Superman!"

 

As I mentioned previously, my first exposure to comic book superheroes was through cartoons, t.v. shows and toys. While I know I had superhero Mego action figures in the late 70's, I don't have any memories of them as early as 1976. Therefore, this could very well be my first superhero toy: The Superman U-Fix-It Tool Kit

 

 

 

While there's no date on the back of the picture, the placement in the photo album puts it somewhere between the spring and fall 1976. I'm unclear as to who bought this for me. I seem to remember that my mother's uncle, who lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sent this to me as a gift. However, my brother - 2 years younger than me - received a Fisher Price music box at the same time. The photos of him with his gift also have the neighbor couple from across the street who my parents were friends with. So it's possible they purchased these toys for us.

 

Interestingly, the entire tool box is put together with the same large plastic nuts and bolts as are included in the kit. So you could literally take the tool box itself apart.

 

For a long time, I thought the Superman figurine was actually the same as the one included in the Craft Masters painting kit. This was a white vinyl figure that included 4 acrylic paints and a brush. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture of this particular item. Here's another character they produced to illustrate what I'm referring to: (picture from eBay item number 360912117049)

 

 

I believe the Superman - along with Batman and Wonder Woman - were originally produced in the 70's and then re-released in the 80's with Super Powers packaging. At some point in my adolescence I spotted the Superman kit in one of these two iterations at a hobby store and concluded - without the picture in hand to compare - that the two figures were one and the same.

 

However, while preparing this entry, I had an opportunity to compare my childhood photo with a picture of the Super Powers release. While they look similar, unless the sculpt was changed for the re-release, the figures are not the same. Mine looks like he has his hands squarely on his hips; the Craft Master figure has hands clenched and arms slightly bent but not completely akimbo. My figure appears to have a gap in between the legs whereas the Craft Master figure has a solid background behind the legs extending to the base.

 

I've never done any concentrated searching for the kit. It looks to be rather on the large side and, frankly, is a baby toy so I don't have much interest in requiring it. However, out of curiosity I have on occasion casually looked to see if there are any on eBay and have never seen any like it. I have no idea who made it - that's why I was interested in a possible Craft Master connection. I don't even remember if it came in some kind of packaging or not.

 

.....

 

Two years later the first Superman movie with Christopher Reeve was released and my interest in comic book superheroes would be taken to another level. Yet, as important as the Superman movies were to me as a child, I really didn't have very many Superman toys. The same would prove to be true regarding his representation in my comic purchases.

 

While some of my earliest comics were Justice League of American - which included Superman - these are 3 of the only 4 comics that I owned a kid that were dedicated to Superman: (all are my high-grade replacement copies)

 

Superman Family #210: originally purchased in the summer of 1981, I likely picked this in the wake of renewed interest thanks to the movie Superman II. I'm pretty sure that I also thought the villain wearing a tribal mask was kind of neat. I also think this pick was influenced by Detective Comics #486, I comic I had acquired back in 1979 and had enjoyed rereading over and over. However, while the Detective issue had art by Don Newton, Mike Nasser and had stories with a flaming skeleton and the Scarecrow, this Superman Family issue wasn't really of the same caliber. Thus, I don't have as many fond memories of it as I do of the Detective issue.

 

I am happy to have a copy in this condition. It's difficult to find copies of these dollar size comics that don't have pulling/tears at the staples or bindery tears at the spine extremities.

 

 

Superman #383: the story has a creature named Robrox being accidentally excavated while crews are doing roadwork in Metropolis, so the book has kind of a cool B-movie set-up. But my main reason for purchasing this issue was the cover. Two things about Superman were iconic to me - him ripping open his shirt to reveal the S, and changing in a phone booth. This cover had both. I picked this up off the rack when I was 10 yet I made a value judgment the way a collector would.

 

 

Superman #422: I also picked this one largely because of the cover. Can you blame me? I was 13 when this was on the stands but my mom still wanted to vet my comic selections. Even though this was a Superman book - about as wholesome as you can get - the cover was so intense that she almost denied my this one.

 

 

[Jaws1965]

Great journal post. It sounds like I was about 8 years ahead of you in my comic collecting, although my experience differed in some ways other than temporal. I also loved many of the titles you reference in your initial post, such as Battlestar Galactica, G.I. Joe, Secret Wars, the Micronauts, the Shogun Warriors, Godzilla, etc. To this day, I happily collect many of these relatively "worthless" titles because of the memories they invoke. Sometimes, just knowing I happily bought that particular comic and rode home with it on my bicycle is enough.

 

In my initial journal post, I less capably wrote to capture some of the nostalgia that drives my own collection, but yours is FAR better. Thanks for taking the time to share.

[Jaws1965]

Wonderful journal series, thanks for the obvious time it's taken to create the posts.

 

I'm curious, what's your personal reason for cracking your graded comics from their slabs and storing them in mylars?

[Brandon Shepherd]

I found a copy of Superman #383 at the first comic store I went to as a 12-year old in 1994. I only knew the "post-crisis" Superman at the time, and a book printed when I was only 1 seemed so old to me. I was captures by the cover because of the image of Superman changing in a phone booth. This was an image seldom seen by '94 and I wanted a chance to jump in on a classic Superman image. I also thought about how cool and rare it was to have a cover showing the Clark Kent/Superman transformation.

[Number 6]

I'm curious, what's your personal reason for cracking your graded comics from their slabs and storing them in mylars?

 

The primary reason is archival storage. My understanding is that in order for the inner well to have welded seams, CGC has to use a plastic that is less archival safe than Mylar. Also, after a few years the micro chamber paper becomes inert. For these reasons, CGC recommends that books be submitted for re-holdering every 7 years.

 

Not only does this involve added expense but repeatedly subjects the books to possible damage or loss while in transit. I feel the books are better protected if they are put in Mylars and remain permanently a part of my collection.

 

A secondary reason is one of storage. Again, there's the added expense of buying special bags and CGC-size boxes to store slabs. Plus, it requires separating my CGC books from my raws, an organizational constriction that I don't find aesthetically pleasing.

 

And frankly, I just find books in Mylars a much "cleaner" look. I collected comics off-and-on for nearly 30 years before CGC so I guess it's just what I'm accustomed to.

 

All of which raises the question: why not just buy raws?

 

The books I collect from the late Bronze and early Copper period are of little monetary value. Therefore, most dealers won't bother to carry them at all, let alone find and accurately grade raw high grade copies. But if they happen to they either 1) slab them or 2) charge a premium on raws close to what a slabbed copy would sell for.

 

I'll certainly take high-grade raws when I can get them, but if a slabbed copy of a book I need in a condition I'm looking for becomes available and I'm comfortable with the price, I have no scruples about acquiring it.

 

When it comes to Silver and early Bronze, I'm usually looking for copies that are in grades that aren't considered truly "high-grade" - usually 8.0-9.0 for Silver and 9.0-9.4, maybe 9.6 on Bronze. And the issues themselves are nothing scarce or rare, raw or graded. So, in most cases, I'm not paying anymore for a slabbed copy than I would for an accurately graded raw. And because they're fairly common, I don't believe I'm denying anyone the opportunity to own these books in a slabbed state.

 

Yet, I do pay enough for these books that I would like some assurance regarding restoration. I don't want another unpleasant surprise like my first Batman #251. So unless I can get the book from a trusted dealer, I would actually prefer CGC copies in these cases. But my view is that CGC provides a service, not a product. So once I have the book and am assured that it's unrestored, I remove the holder so the book will fit in with the rest of my collection.

 

The exception to all of this is my Signature Series books - but I only have a handful of those.

 

.....

 

I know this probably doesn't sit well with a lot of members and that no amount of explanation will make my position sound reasonable.

 

All I can say is that this is the way I have found to pursue my collecting goals that brings me the most satisfaction.

 

 

[Jaws1965]

Thanks for sharing your rationale! I think it's rock-solid, and it drives me to consider carefully all the pros and cons.

 

I've also fretted over a few of the things you mentioned. My primary mode of storage is Gerber Mylite 2's with acid-free halfbacks or full-backs, and I usually put at least one piece of MCP inside even if the book is worthless to others, or unless the book is below 6.0 by my own eye. Over the past 18 months, I've been rebagging the bulk of my collection from its original storage mode of 30 years ago, which was 1mil mylites, no backing board, stored in those gray, flip-top, acid-free boxes that I don't think they sell any more. I used acid-free backing boards only between every 10th comic or so (outside the bag--yeah, I know, I was a broke teenager working at K-Mart).

 

So, I've always wanted my comics stored archivally, but my storage method has improved along with my disposable income. Aesthetics and uniformity are also important to me as well, but my collection is a lost cause in that regard. I've got too many different sized boxes, widths of bags/boards, and other issues, to the point where CGC comics are just another complication.

 

About a year ago, I was chatting with an Overstreet senior advisor in Little Rock, Arkansas, and I asked him why he poo-poo's CGC so much. Among the many other things, he also said "you know, those cases are not archival." That always bothered me a little, but given I keep my comics cool, dry, and dark (usually ~62-72 degrees year-round with 30-50% RH, and minimal exposure to oxygen, I've at least slowed the aging process in that way alone), I let myself forget this guy's disturbing comments. I do truly enjoy the fact you can pretty robustly let anyone handle a slabbed comic -- a slabbed comic is pretty sturdy unless the novice handler (my wife, my kids), shakes it hard, sticks it in the sun, or drops it.

 

Product vs. Service - I agree, particularly with restoration. I do also enjoy my CGC comics as a product, namely for the competitive registry (the registry really hooked the OCD side of me, I've always loved stuff like that). On restoration, I completely agree that the restoration check aspect of the CGC certification is perhaps the most important service they offer.

 

I suppose one criticism might be "what if you want to sell your collection? You've invalidated all your grades!" Or "you won't be able to compete in the registry! Response: Irrelevant if you don't intend to flip/sell your collection any time soon. Also, there's nothing to prevent anyone from participating in the registry to post books they have owned and subsequently cracked out of the holders. To my knowledge, there are no periodic audits to verify the "owner" still has the book intact in its CGC holder.

 

Finally, and this is no small thing, some people simply like to have access to the comic, which you have with your storage solution. A friend of mine simply can't stand not being able to "access" his comics. He owns hundreds of Silver Age Marvels, including many worth a few hundred dollars, that he re-reads every few years. He says "what's the fun in owning a copy of FF#25 if I can't enjoy the Kirby art and read the letters page?" I shudder, then tell him that's what Masterworks and Omnibus editions are for. It's lost on him...he says "but I already have the comic!"

[mschmidt]

CGC's inner well is made from Barex - which is completely inert & archival-safe. It's basically a less-clear version of Mylar.

 

It's a myth that the micro-chamber paper becomes inert after 7 years - all the information I've seen concludes that the MCP will remain active for several decades :thumbsup:

[Jaws1965]

That's a relief to hear re. both the inner well and the MCP! I knew it was Barex, but I wasn't sure about its archival properties.

[Number 6]

"Bring On the Abomination!"

 

My first exposure to Marvel Comics characters came from three different sources at approximately the same time. Since I was around 6-8 years old at the time, it's difficult for me to distinguish which came first. If I had to venture a guess, though, I would have to say it was this: (obtained for me by my brother at the 2002 SDCC)

 

 

For today's more sophisticated television audience, this show probably seems incredibly hokey, but I can't even begin to describe how awesome I thought this show was and what an impression it made on me as a child. I watched this show religiously every week.

 

Of course, I had to have a Mego Hulk action figure. I was such a fan of the character that I had one Hulk figure at my house and one at my granny's (maternal grandmother). Since I've re-entered comic collecting a few years ago, I've tried to restrict myself to just comics and avoid branching out into toys. However, I have seriously considered making an exception in the case of a carded Mego Hulk figure.

 

A couple of years after the Incredible Hulk debuted on television, my mother responded to this mail away add: (from a copy of Incredible Hulk #247 cover dated 5/80)

 

 

The frustrating thing is that I can't remember any comic I had as a kid that would correspond to the date when this ad appeared. Which means there is at least one childhood comic that I need to reacquire, but can't because I don't even know what it is. I'm not sure whether or not General Mills was also running the ad on the qualifying boxes of cereal, circumventing the need for the coupon in the comic ad.

 

At any rate, I'm sure it took a measure of begging and pleading to induce my mom to purchase the necessary boxes of cereal. While my mom did buy sweat cereals for us throughout my childhood, she was generally opposed to them. In her opinion, even Cheerios were too sweat - which I always though was odd since they tasted like the cardboard box to me. Nevertheless, she must have given in because my brother got the Spider-man set while received this: (breaking my rule against buying toys, this is a sealed example I required for my collection)

 

 

It's interesting that the manufacturer describes the product as a "game" as I would never consider it to be such. I suppose it may be because it is very similar in concept to Colorforms which were always stocked in the game and puzzle isles of stores.

 

For those born after the mid-80's and may be unfamiliar with this toy, Presto Magix was a type of self-contained arts-and-crafts project consisting of a tri-fold paper background and a sheet of dry transfers (similar in consistency rub-on temporary tattoos). You simply positioned the character or object where you wanted it on the background, rubbed the back side of the transfer with a pen, pencil or other hard object and then pull back the transfer sheet, leaving the selected transfer attached to the background.

 

I remember that when we got these sets in the mail my mom sat down to show us how to use them. The transfers are very delicate so the sheet came with a piece of tissue paper on the side where the transfers would need to make contact with the background. My mom asked me which image I wanted to do first and I picked the creepy looking tree monster (Groot). However, since she had immediately removed the tissue paper when the kit was opened, she became confused as to which side of the transfer sheet was the active side. Unfortunately, it wasn't until she had made several swipes with a sharp pencil that she realized that she had the wrong side down. She tried her best to salvage the mistake but Groot ended up having a fairly shredded look.

 

Because of this mail away set, Presto Magix became one of my favorite childhood toys, and since they were relatively inexpensive I had several. Some of my favorites were the ones from the Empire Strikes Back.

 

But this set did something else: it exposed me to a number of colorful Marvel villains, something I wasn't getting from the T.V. show. As mentioned, the tree monster character appealed to me but it wouldn't be until about 10 years ago that I discovered the identity of the character and that he appeared in Incredible Hulk Annual #5. Unfortunately, I waited too long to acquire a high-grade copy of this book. Now I'll have to wait until the movie hype dies down a bit. Another totally bizarre character that caught my attention was the giant head in a floating chair (M.O.D.O.K.). At some point, I would like to acquire his first appearance. But because it's a Captain America TOS issue it really hasn't been a priority for me. In fact, I'd like to acquire all the first appearances of the villains in that Presto Magix set - the Leader, Zzzzax, Harpy, Bi-Beast, etc. But for some reason, I really haven't made much progress on that goal.

 

Because of my increasing interest in comic characters at this time, my mom sought out comic-related reading material for me at the library. This may be because the handful of comic books she had purchased for me hadn't survived the abuse that a 6-8 year-old can heap upon them.

 

We had just recently moved from Fresno to the Kingsburg/Selma area and Fresno County had just built a new library for the Selma branch. (the Selma library as it appears today)

 

 

I tried to locate the exact date when the library was built but found that the bronze dedication plate had been hastily removed from the front outside entrance. When I spoke to the librarian about it, she said that it had been stolen along with several city manhole covers, probably to be sold as scrap metal at some recycling center. That fact that a recycling center wouldn't both report and return what is clearly stolen city property makes me question how complicit these recycling centers are in metal theft. As you can see from the photo, the library has suffered both neglect from the County and abuse from the public. It deeply saddens me to see this library that I frequented so often as a child fall into this state of disrepair. I've always fondly remembered it as being a very attractive building.

 

A pleasant surprise is that the outside is not an indication of what the inside looks like. It's still a beautiful library on the inside and looks very much the way it did when I was a child - except the card catalogs have been replaced by internet access computers. What's interesting is that, while the children's section is located on the east side of the building, this row of books is located on the complete opposite side:

 

 

This is the Photography and Arts isles. Before the days when library's had sections dedicated to Young Adults crammed with "graphic novels", this is where comic reprint books were located. I don't know if my mom stumbled on these by accident or found them by using the card catalog, but nestled in between books on Ansel Adams photography and Marc Chagall paintings were the Fireside Marvel and Bonanza DC reprint books. I know I checked out all of these multiple times, but the one I requested the most and was my absolute favorite was this one: (photo from eBay auction #111370380806)

 

 

The copy from the library was the soft-cover version pictured here but had been rebound as a hard-cover. I wanted to request this book from the library to include photos of it for this post but, sadly, it has been withdrawn from the collection. While enjoyed all of the stories from this book, my absolute favorite was the Abomination. I'm sure his likeness to the Creature from the Black Lagoon had more than a little to do with it. But the fact that he was a Hulk villain made it a double treat. I found the Gil Kan art a bit odd - his giant-brow, beady-eyed Hulk didn't look much like the images that was appearing on all the Hulk merchandise during the late 70's - what I considered to be the "true" depiction of the Hulk.

 

In addition to introducing me to these cool bad guys, these books began to give me the sense of the history of comics. I think as a kid I had always assumed that the comics were spin-offs from the T.V. shows and cartoons instead of the other way around (movie adaptations and toy tie-ins likely contributed to this misunderstanding). But now I was getting the sense that comics were much older and had possibly pre-dated their media counter-parts. It would certainly explain how most super-hero comics had already reached triple-digits by the late 70's (something as a 6-8 year-old I had a hard time figuring out).

 

But more to the point, this volume fired me up to find issues of the Incredible Hulk that had my new favorite bad guy. So I was ecstatic when I found this on the comic rack of a small Selma grocery store: (my reading copy)

 

 

Unfortunately, the story was a big disappointment. The Abomination technically isn't actually in this issue. Turns out the Glorian clouds the Hulk's mind so he thinks that the towns people are his enemies and at the same time induces the townsfolk to attack the Hulk. So instead of actually having a Hulk vs. Abomination mash-up, it's just the Hulk beating the holy snot out of average citizens.

 

But I would never forget how cool I thought the Abomination was as a kid and it would be 20 more years before I could really satisfy my Abomination craving.

 

 

To be continued....